The Spire
Noroton Presbyterian Church
n
2011 Post Road, Darien, CT 06820
n
203-655-1451
I
n 2007 John
Marr and I
showed up
unannounced
at Gordon Col-
lege in Rawalpindi,
Pakistan. My Grandpar-
ents had lived around the corner from
this institution in the early 1900s and
I wanted to see the place for myself.
The students were gone, but as soon
as the President of the School learned
that Americans were on campus
(I’m sure many didn’t come there),
he summoned us to his office and
promptly served us tea. Over tea and
cookies, he proceeded to share with
us, in perfect English, his disappoint-
ment with US intervention in Afghan-
istan, Iraq and Pakistan. I reminded
him, as politely as I could since we
were his guests, that we had been at-
tacked first, and we appreciated Paki-
stan’s help (which President Musharraf
had offered) to root out the terrorist
bases that sat on the border. All in
all, it was a pleasant and memorable
experience reminding me that in most
places in the world,
hospitality could
trump politics.
A few weeks ago, Chris George,
the Director of Integrated Refugee
& Immigrant Services (IRIS) of New
Haven, spoke at our church about the
current worldwide refugee crisis. He
too had found that in his visit to refu-
gee camps overseas, hospitality would
trump politics as he was warmly
received by even the poorest families.
That sort of graciousness fueled him
to work on this issue of welcoming
refugees to the state of Connecticut
for the last ten years. What Chris
told us dispelled many myths and
informed our growing concerns about
welcoming refugees. Here are some
of the important points we heard.
-
A “refugee” is someone who
has crossed an international
border fleeing persecution or
the threat of persecution.
-
There are 19 million refugees
fleeing persecution all over
the world today. The largest
group is Syrians (about 4
million).
-
Most of these refugees are
in temporary camps where
the UN certifies them as
legitimate refugees and
then the US Department of
Homeland Security has to
clear them before we would
accept them. This clearance
takes about two years and is
very thorough. It is based on
biometric information shared
with all international databases
The Crisis of Our Day
continued on page 2...
December 2015
Worship Schedule
Chapel - 8:00 am
Sanctuary - 9:00 & 10:30 am
Open Doors - 5:00 pm
Upcoming Preaching Schedule:
12/6 - 2nd Sunday of Advent
Pastor Sam Schreiner
12/13
-
3rd Sunday of Advent
8:00 am & 5:00 pm
Pastor Jimmy McPherson
9:00 & 10:30 am
Children's Christmas Pageant
12/20 - 4th Sunday of Advent
8:00, 9:00, and 10:30 am
Pastor John Seiders
5:00 pm Open Doors
Advent Unplugged
Pastor Brandi Drake
12/24 - Christmas Eve
3:00 & 5:00 pm
Services for Families
Pastor Brandi Drake
8:00 & 10:00 pm
Inspirational Music and Carols
with Choir and Orchestra
Pastor Sam Schreiner
12/27 -10:30 am Service Only
Pastor Jimmy McPherson
Table of Contents
APN
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Children’s Ministry.............................7-8
NPCC........................................................8
0
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Music & Fine Arts................................ 14
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